Guinea eyeing U-20 WC win over S. Korea

by Phumzile Ngcatshe

Friday May 19, 2017. 09:00

Guinea will chase a win as they meet South Korea in their opening 2017 U-20 FIFA World Cup Group A match on Saturday.

The Young Menas will be banking on their U-20 2017 Africa Cup of Nations run as they managed to book a spot in the world's junior tournament.

They reached the semifinals in Zambia back in March and will be inspired to cause an upset against the hosts come Saturday.

Coach Mandjou Diallo is aware that his team carries the hopes of the nation and the continent - and the chance to win their opening match is set to be a huge motivation.

Guinea beat South Africa in the third-place play-off of the continental tournament and will be banking players such as Naby Bangourra and Morlaye Sylla to inspire the team.

However, looking at the hosts, coach Shin Tae-Yong believes their preparations are spot on, but it was difficult to analyse Guinea.

“We were able to call up the player 10 days ahead of our original schedule, thanks to universities and football clubs," he said.

“It gave the players time to improve their stamina and helped me to organize the team step by step.

"If we played the friendlies without having enough preparation time, we probably would have had some injured players.

"It's difficult to find video of Guinea's friendly matches, but I think they're similar to Senegal, so we must be aware of the quickness of their strikers."

Ahead of the tournament, the hosts beat Saudi Arabia 3-1 and bagged a 2-0 win over Uruguay last week, before picking up a 2-2 draw with Senegal.

Coach Shin will pin his hopes on his two Barcelona players such as Lee Seung-Woo (known as the Korean Messi) and midfielder Paik Seung-Ho to unlock the stubborn Guinea defence.

The match is set to staged at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju on Saturday afternoon, 13:00 CAT.